I love gift cards. Seriously, I think they're the best ideas ever, and I know that I'm not alone in that. Be aware that some cards, if you read the fine print, have both fees and expiration dates. This is unfair to the recipient, and a ripoff to the giver. Some states though, are trying to prevent retailers from attaching expiration dates or fees to gift cards — and are using unclaimed property laws to make them do it. The effort could help consumers keep the value of cards for a longer time. About $8 billion a year is wasted when gift cards expire, are lost or go unredeemed, reports research and advisory firm TowerGroup, according to
USA Today. Corporate Research International said last week that more than 25 percent of consumers who received gift cards during the 2005 holiday season waited about a year to redeem them. In this, a lot of money is at stake. Sales of retail store gift cards were expected to hit $29 billion in 2006, up more than 20 percent from 2005, says TowerGroup. As many as 35 gift card bills introduced in state legislatures in 2006 sought to end expiration dates or fees.
Also on my mind,
Lost producers are talking to ABC executives to set up a time frame for the series length and its finale season. I think that this is a stellar idea. I like that they're figuring out how to end the show, and to be sure that all us viewers have the answers we want. If more shows worked out a time line like this, viewers would be a lot happier. Look at
The X-Files. I never watched the show, but I remember the brouhaha surrounding its demise and the dissatisfaction of the viewers in regards to the plots. With a show like
Lost, one can't imagine it ending before we all find out what the black smoke is; why the Others are creepy; how the hook-ups will last; when they all get off the island (assuming they do); and what happens once they do. I want to see Jack back in the real world! I want to see Claire and Charlie live happily ever after! I want to see Kate drive off into the sunset! I want to watch Locke walk off the rescue boat! I want to see it all, and I thank the show producers for looking out for us.
I love gift cards. Seriously, I think they're the best ideas ever, and I know that I'm not alone in that. Be aware that some cards, if you read the fine print, have both fees and expiration dates. This is unfair to the recipient, and a ripoff to the giver. Some states though, are trying to prevent retailers from attaching expiration dates or fees to gift cards — and are using unclaimed property laws to make them do it. The effort could help consumers keep the value of cards for a longer time. About $8 billion a year is wasted when gift cards expire, are lost or go unredeemed, reports research and advisory firm TowerGroup, according to USA Today. Corporate Research International said last week that more than 25 percent of consumers who received gift cards during the 2005 holiday season waited about a year to redeem them. In this, a lot of money is at stake. Sales of retail store gift cards were expected to hit $29 billion in 2006, up more than 20 percent from 2005, says TowerGroup. As many as 35 gift card bills introduced in state legislatures in 2006 sought to end expiration dates or fees.
Also on my mind, Lost producers are talking to ABC executives to set up a time frame for the series length and its finale season. I think that this is a stellar idea. I like that they're figuring out how to end the show, and to be sure that all us viewers have the answers we want. If more shows worked out a time line like this, viewers would be a lot happier. Look at The X-Files. I never watched the show, but I remember the brouhaha surrounding its demise and the dissatisfaction of the viewers in regards to the plots. With a show like Lost, one can't imagine it ending before we all find out what the black smoke is; why the Others are creepy; how the hook-ups will last; when they all get off the island (assuming they do); and what happens once they do. I want to see Jack back in the real world! I want to see Claire and Charlie live happily ever after! I want to see Kate drive off into the sunset! I want to watch Locke walk off the rescue boat! I want to see it all, and I thank the show producers for looking out for us.
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